KAREN VIVIANA REYES JOYA

ESSAY ABOUT BULLYING

Bullying is violent and intimidatory behavior that is performed between teachers,

kids, and teenagers in schools in a verbal, physical or psychological way. Attacking,
causing damage, generating self-distrust and hindering the school development is the
main objective of bullies. Currently, we can find a lot of types of bullying; the most
popular because of social networks and technology use is cyberbullying. Since a few
years ago, until now, schools and society have tried obtaining strategies to stop this
problematic and the ideas will be shared below.

A lot of people consider that the best manner to stop bullying is teaching to victims
some self-defence, such as boxing or martial arts. Although it may sound strange, in fact,
it could help to develop self-esteem, self-confidence and establish effective relationships
through teamwork. A study in Colombia demonstrated that 90% of children who have
been bullied and learnt boxing, improved their quality of life, their self-esteem, and the
probability to be a victim was reduced by 80%.

On the other hand, some people may disagree with this idea because it
encourages violence. For instance, if a kid is kicked once and this victim learns some
self-defence, probably, this kid will attack the bully and it will be a vicious circle in which
the victim is the bully now, therefore, the bullying will increase instead of reducing.
Besides, schools must be so careful about practicing this kind of combat sports since
these could be useless if the bullying cause is unknown. If the energies only are
focussed on this practice, perhaps, the root-cause will not be able to be found and the
situation will not change. For example, whether some teenagers are afraid in school and,
for this reason, they are bullying victims, we must know the context; it is possible that
they have a difficult situation with their families (abuse, absence, aggressions, among
others) and the self-defence learning become in an idea to motivate violence.

Regarding other strategies, education about this topic is the most relevant method
to prevent bullying. People cannot hide the problem, society must help bully and victim
as both have different reasons to apply and resist the problem. Families and persons
must recognize the issue and attend psychological treatment sessions. The school has a
great responsibility for giving information and knowledge, trying to resolve the conflicts,
supporting the families when it is required, creating events, motivating to victims to speak
and bullies to understand the damage and canalise their energy in positive activities.
Despite the school responsibility, we cannot forget that education starts at home and
children follow and repeat they live and see in their families.

In conclusion, teaching self-defence is an excellent tool to stop the bullying;

however, it cannot be the only one. All members in school must know the context and
reality of each child or teenager to find the best way to prevent and act against a matter
of concern in particular.